Talented (On Hold)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

            When Connor opened his eyes, the pain was gone, but so was everything else. The lake was gone, and so where the trees and the building. Instead, he stood on the beach, looking out at the ocean. He could feel the spray from the waves, and he could smell the salty air. The beach was nearly empty, save for a single family. The mother watched from a towel on the shore, while the father played with the little girl in the surf.

            Connor walked towards them, and came to stand behind the woman. “Excuse me?” He called.

The woman didn’t turn around. Her brown hair blew in the breeze. “Jason, don’t let her go so deep!” She called to the man.

The man laughed and scooped the little girl, who looked about four, out of the water and put her on his shoulders. “Don’t worry, Ariel!” He called back. “We’re fine, right, Ally?”

“Yes!” The little girl shouted happily. “Don’t worry, Mommy!”

Connor moved closer and tried to tap on the woman’s shoulder. To his immense surprise, his hand passed right through her. He jerked his hand back in shock.

“What the hell?” He said, looking down at his hand. It looked and felt solid to him, but he couldn’t touch anything. Looking around, he also noticed that he didn’t cast any shadow, and didn’t leave any footprints in the sand. It was if he wasn’t really there. Was he a ghost?

            At the sound of the little girl’s happy shrieking, Connor returned his attention to the water. The little girl was squirming in the man’s arms. “Put me down!” She laughed. “Put me down!” The man just laughed and held her up higher.

“Do you want me to drop you?” The man asked, smiling mischievously.

“No!” The girl cried.

“Okay.” The man said, letting go. The little girl plunged into the water, bobbing to the surface with a happy smile on her face, her long black hair fanning out around her face. Before the man could pick her back up, a huge wave came out of nowhere and almost knocked him over. The little girl laughed. “Got you, daddy!”

            Connor saw the woman grin, but there was a little fear mixed in, which he didn’t understand. It seemed like the little girl had a Talent, but Connor didn’t think that was possible. They had learned that powers usually manifested around the ages of twelve and thirteen, occasionally a bit younger, except in in extremely rare circumstances.

            The little girl and her dad came out of the water. The little girl ran off to make a sand castle, while the man walked over to the woman. The woman stood up, shifting from foot to foot nervously. When Connor saw the man’s face up close, it reminded him of someone, though he couldn’t remember whom.

            The woman crossed her arms nervously. “We can’t keep her hidden for long, Jason. Her powers are developing too fast. She already can move the furniture when she’s really upset. Imagine what would happen if she did that in public?”

Connor decided that, against all odds, the girl was Talented, and it was obvious her parents knew.

“She won’t.” Jason replied. “That’s why we homeschool her, and haven’t invited anyone over to the house since her powers began to manifest a month ago.”

The woman sighed. “I think it would be best, as much as it pains me to say it, to send her to Cliffwood.”

“No!” Jason exclaimed. “She doesn’t have enough control; her powers scare her. Pushing her into our world too early would be the wrong thing to do. Besides, it’s good for her to grow up among other normal kids her age, not in a middle school for super heroes!”